The Fever and Sun have known for a few weeks now that they would be meeting in
the playoffs and are ready to just play the games already. Despite only meeting
once before in the postseason, a 2-0 first round win by the Sun in 2005, they
have been at or near the top of the conference for the past few seasons and have
developed a healthy rivalry in the Eastern Conference. Of course, Connecticut's
dominance over the Fever this season has made the rivalry appear a bit one-sided.
The Sun won all four games this season, though two of games were played without
Fever superstar Tamika Catchings.

The Fever were cruising along for the first half of the season, challenging
the Shock for the best overall record in the league and topping out at 16-4
at one point. Then Catchings went down with an injury. The loss of
their MVP candidate sent the Fever into a three-week free-fall that they
are only now beginning to recover from. Indiana lost six straight games but
managed to right the ship a bit in the final two weeks of the season and managed to win
21 games. But the momentum that the team had in the first half is certainly not as strong.

Gm 1: at Conn.,
Thur., 8/23, 7 p.m. ET, ESPN2

Gm 2: at Ind.,
Sat., 8/25, 4 p.m. ET, NBA TV

Gm 3*: at Ind.,
Mon., 8/27, 7 p.m. ET, NBA TV

Catchings' return is the big question looming over this series. She began light
exercise workouts last week and is no longer wearing the protective boot, but
even if she does return for some or all of the series, the Fever may not be
able to count on to be in midseason form. Her teammates must do their
best to compensate for her questionable status.

Free agent acquisition Tammy
Sutton-Brown was hailed as the final piece of the puzzle when she signed with
the Fever, and the center did not disappoint. In an All-Star season, she averaged
12.2 ppg and 5.5 rpg and took some of the pressure off of Catchings and forward
Tamika Whitmore to do all
of the battling down low. Whitmore was an All-Star in 2006 and scored a postseason-record 41 points in a last year against Detroit (with Catchings injured).

Reserve guard Tan White provided a spark off the bench for the Fever and
even led the team in scoring on multiple occasions in the last month of the
season. Her 11.1 ppg complement the defensive-minded nature of Tully Bevilaqua
and the shooting skills of starting two-guard Anna DeForge. Sheri Sam, Ebony Hoffman and K.B. Sharp give the Fever additional options, but this team is going
to live and die with its core nucleus. Tamika Catchings' return to health will
be the key to this team's chances in the playoffs. The Fever have only won one
postseason series in franchise history, a 2005 first-round win over New York, after which
they were swept by the Sun in the Eastern Conference Finals. An injury to
Catching in the first round against Detroit last season resulted in another
sweep.

The Sun lost to the Shock in the Eastern Conference Finals a year ago after
making two straight WNBA Finals appearances in 2004 and 2005. But that recent
success was not apparent in the way the Sun began their 2007 season. For a while,
it looked like they might not even make it back to the playoffs at all. Connecticut
spent much of the season languishing in mediocrity, unable to get consistent
play from just about anyone but guard Katie
Douglas and forward Asjha Jones.
At the midpoint of the season, the Sun were just 6-11 and all but out of the
postseason picture. They then proceeded to win 10 of their next 11 games and
all but assure themselves a spot back in the postseason. Despite a meaningless
loss in the last game of the season to the desperate Mystics, no team was hotter
than the Sun in the second half.

Douglas was First Team All-WNBA in 2006 and followed that up with another
fine season, leading the team with 16.7 points per game. Lindsay
Whalen enjoyed a strong second half and finished with 13.0 ppg and climbed
to second in the league in assists (5.0 apg). Gone from the Sun is veteran forward
Taj McWilliams-Franklin,
who was traded to the Sparks this past offseason. So Jones stepped up her game
as Taj's replacement in the starting lineup and even made her first All-Star
apperance. Her 15.2 ppg and 6.0 rpg averages are both personal bests.

Veteran forward Nykesha Sales spent part of the season fighting an injury,
but got healthy at just the right time. She is back in a big way and
gives the Sun yet another offensive weapon. In the final matchup against the Fever in
the last week of the season, Sales poured in a career-high 32 points. Her midseason
injury also opened the door for the emergence of two newcomers, rookie Evanthia Maltsi and second-year center Erika Desouza. Maltsi had been a reserve through
much of the season, but stepped in to start seven games and scored in double
figures in several of those games. Of course, she may be a rookie by WNBA standards,
but she will be turning 29 later this year. Desouza was acquired from L.A. in
the McWilliams-Franklin trade and has been getting a fair share of minutes playing
behind center Margo Dydek.

Despite their early season struggles, coach Mike Thibault has his team back
on track and ready to make another run deep into the postseason. Despite only
being seeded third, Connecticut is peaking at the right time and no one is taking
them lightly.

2007 Regular Season: Connecticut
Sun 4 - Indiana Fever 0

Some fast facts about the Fever-Sun
first-round matchup:

Catchings

The Indiana Fever were 16-5 in games played with Catchings this season,
but only 3-8 in games played without her. By all accounts, Sun point guard Lindsay Whalen
had the best season of her career. She scored 13.2 ppg and nearly averaged
five rebounds and five assists per night as well. Katie Douglas also surpassed
last year's All-WNBA season and finished with a career-best 16.8 ppg. In eight games as a starter
this season, Fever guard Tan White averaged 13.5 ppg, but White was most
valuable as a reserve sixth woman. On the season, she averaged 11.0 ppg.
Four score... both the Sun and
Fever had four starters score in double figures this season. The Sun also
had five players average more than 4.0 rebounds per game while Catchings
was the only Fever player to grab more than 4.0 rebounds per contest.